Meet Our Instructors

Helen Beattie is the founder and Executive Director of UP for Learning (Unleashing the Power of Partnership for Learning).  Her work reflects a life-long passion for elevating the voices of those who feel disempowered and voiceless in both health and education. Helen worked in health education and management at the American Cancer Society, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and as the Director of Northern Counties Health Centers, a network of five rural community-based health centers in the Northeast Kingdom. Read more.
Jennifer Course: Jennifer has had the honor of being an ELL educator for the past twenty years.  She discovered her passion for community-building and learning from her students while serving in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua in the late nineties.  She obtained her Master’s in TESOL from SIT Graduate Institute in 2002, which brought her to the area. She is passionate about brain-based learning, helping students develop their own learning and career pathways, and lifelong learning.  She is currently pursuing her Post-Master’s Certification in Educational Leadership, through Keene State College.
Harry Frank worked with UP in its early years helping to develop our programs, and will again focus on our high school initiatives: Youth and Adults Transforming Schools Together (YATST) and the Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF).  Harry started teaching 30 years ago and has always looked for ways to create the circumstances for everyone to thrive.  He has taught in public, private, and alternative schools as well as education-focused non-profit organizations where has managed a number of education grants and projects in Vermont.  Read more.
Adrienne LaPierre is a freelance technology consultant who specializes in the design and development of online educational content. She also works as a tech integrationist at Guilford Central School and Putney Central School. Adrienne holds a master’s degree in Teaching with Technology from Marlboro College. She is passionate about helping people of all ages become more confident users of technology. Visit www.adriennelapierre.com for more information.
Ben Lord came to the sciences by way of natural history. He holds a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and a MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University where he took course mainly so that he could learn more about the woods. Ben’s other natural habitat is the library. (He has four librarian in his extended family.) While working the night shift in the library at Landmark College and completing a naturalist training course during the day, Ben decided to combine his two loves and become a science teacher. Currently, he teaches biology, chemistry, and Earth science at Brattleboro Union High School and writes for Northern Woodlands magazine.
Heidi Pancake received her BA in art from Wheaton College and her Master of  Arts in Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and Spanish  from The School for International Training World Learning. She has been  teaching ESOL in the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union since 2009.
Ana Rawson has been teaching pre-k through university level for 30 years. The first ten years were spent in Southern California working as a director for Head Start- Follow Through pre K through grade two, and later as a lead teacher in a dual bilingual program for 5 years. In 1988, she established the ESOL program for WSESU where she is currently directing the program, and teaching at BUHS. Read more.
Jennifer Stanchfield, MS: Jen’s depth of experience, creativity, and knowledge of educational theory and practice is evident in her innovative yet practical workshops and publications in which she incorporates the art of facilitation and teaching with brain-based and pedagogical research. In her 25 years as an educator, Jen has worked as a classroom teacher, a clinician in mental health treatment centers for children, adolescents and adults, as an adventure educator, and in professional training, adult education, and organizational teambuilding. Read more.
Amelia Stone is a former teacher, curriculum coordinator, and principal who brings more than 30 years of classroom experience at the elementary, middle and college level to the classroom. Amelia is also a certified yoga instructor and is the Interim Director of the Learning Collaborative.
Pat Wiedel, Ph. D.: Pat’s experience in education spans over 30 years in Virginia, and includes teaching students in primary and elementary grades to leading adult learning and systems change as a principal and district administrator. Projects near and dear to her heart include teaching curriculum and instructional strategies that challenge students to learn at high levels, designing mentoring and coaching programs for sustained teacher growth, and working with principals to build a culture of collaboration and high-expectations teaching. She has taught both online and face-to-face courses as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia and George Mason University and is past-president of Virginia’s Learning Forward affiliate, where she continues to serve on the board. Read more.